


The Deal

by toradorka



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Coffee Shop AU mixed with Fake Dating AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 22:32:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toradorka/pseuds/toradorka
Summary: Laxus meets Freed when he spills coffee all over his fancy, brand-new briefcase. Now Laxus owes him. If Laxus had known he'd get roped into being Freed's fake date to his ex boyfriend's engagement party, he never would've agreed. No Magic AU. {laxus/freed}





	The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer;; I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters.   
> note;; this is simply trash, enjoy it

chapter one—pumpkin spice

"Do you have to do that?" Laxus taps his foot impatiently and _prays for strength_ while Evergreen fluffs up her hair in the rear-side mirror of his Ford Fiesta. "Your hair is _fine,_ Ever. I'm freezing my ass off here."

"I'll be right with you, my darling." Evergreen swats her hand half-heartedly from inside the car. She re-adjusts the mirror with her free hand to get a better look at herself.

Laxus sighs, but doesn't protest.

He watches, disinterested, as people filter into his favourite café, slipping off their winter coats and settling into their seats. He reaches into his jacket pocket to procure a cigarette and his lighter—which is in the shape of an electric guitar, _of course._

"Can this day move any fucking slower?" He grunts under his breath and leans against the café window and waits, agitated, as Evergreen dirties the backseat of his car by spilling her eyeshadow on his _leather_ seats, not that it mattered.

His car was cheap and didn't exactly get you where you wanted to go in the quickest possible time—I mean, a _bus_ was faster—but it was practical, and it was _electric yellow_ , and it was all he could afford, really.

He'd bought it pre-owned after seeing an ad on craigslist last summer. He remembers how Evergreen had warned him of the dangers of meeting up with strange guys from the internet—because Evergreen knew _all about that_ —but he had ignored her advice, throwing on his only suit—royal blue with a sharp sports coat—to appear perhaps a little entitled and intimidating and not like the unemployed mess he really was.

To his pleasant surprise, the craigslist guy hadn't been an axe-wielding maniac like Evergreen had thought. In fact, he was the complete opposite of threatening. He was younger than Laxus by a good eleven months, and had been quite shorter than Laxus, with dark hair and enormous, frosty blue eyes and smart, simple clothes one could only assume had been purchased from a used clothes store. His name was Theo, and he would go on to become Laxus' first ever boyfriend.

Laxus still remembers how much Evergreen had cried with joy on the day he finally decided to announce to the world that he was into guys—after all, Evergreen had been telling people that since 7th grade. It had been a great achievement for her to finally hear she had been right. It didn't surprise her, though. Evergreen's Gay-Dar was _rarely_ wrong.

After siphoning off the last, long drag of his cigarette, Laxus glances behind his shoulder to see Evergreen re-applying a coat of cotton candy lipgloss and wiping pink smears off of her chin with her thumb.

Laxus is _done_.  

"Will you hurry the fuck up, Ever? Do you know how long it takes them to make a bloody latte in this place?"

Evergreen rolls down the window of Laxus' car and pushes her black-tinted sunglasses down her nose. "Laxus, _hon,_ you have such a handsome smile. Why don't you channel some goddamn happy and quite snapping those fangs of yours at me. It's _so_ unattractive."

"Well, _darling_ Ever, not all of us merit our worth on our appearance."

With a dramatic sigh and a dismissive flick of her hand, Evergreen tucks her lipgloss back into her purse. "Honestly, if I could quit you, you'd never hear from me again."

Laxus flashes a rare half-smile. "If only."

Evergreen trips on her way out of Laxus' car.

The distinct sound of a shoe heel breaking accompanied by a string of violent profanity distracts Laxus as he pushes forward towards the café—Magic Bean, which, coincidentally, has the best looking baristas in all of Magnolia.

They enter the establishment, Laxus taking long, deliberate steps towards the counter, a very pissed and very bare-foot Evergreen in tow—and things only go downhill from there.

"Will you _look_ at this fucking line, Evergreen?"

**...**

Twenty three minutes later, several impatient grunts later, three break-downs later, Laxus and Evergreen make it to the front of the line and order their drinks, gossiping between themselves as they search for Bickslow—the only other person in the world who puts up with Laxus' moods and Evergreen's antics.

"Is he sick today?" Evergreen ponders as she waits for her order to be taken.

Laxus squints and looks behind the counter. "That—or he's with that new girlfriend of his, _again_."

Evergreen's face scrunches up in an angry grimace. "So, now he's not just ditching us to see her, but he's skipping work too? I knew that Lisanna girl was bad news."

"Oh, yeah. She seems like a total _bad bitch_." Laxus says sarcastically, then snorts.

He'd met Bickslow's new squeeze twice, and neither times did he ever get the impression that she wasn't good enough for him. Hell, she spent her Friday nights working for _animal charities_ and her Saturday mornings volunteering her time at elderly homes. She was most definitely harmless.

Still, it doesn't mean Laxus _likes_ her. It's because of how perfect she is that Laxus _doesn't_ like her. Bickslow had always been easily distracted by a pretty face and Lisanna was no exception. Bickslow is also an incredibly dedicated person, which usually causes issues with his friends. He can't seem to juggle both friends and a girlfriend at once—which usually left Laxus and Evergreen out in the cold.

"Finally," Evergreen squeaks, sobering Laxus from his daydream. He blinks as a barista approaches the counter to take their orders.

"Hmm, let me see," Evergreen leans on her elbows, squinting her eyes at the beverage menu. The young barista pales as Evergreen gives him a full view of her exceptionally large assets peaking out from her low-cut dress. "I'll have a fat-free iced caramel macchiato. No syrup. _Extra_ foam." She waits, as the barista continues to stare. Her white smile drops and she sighs. " _Today_ , please? Run along."

The barista blinks back into focus and quickly scampers off to collect Evergreen's drink, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he hadn't asked Laxus what he wanted. Laxus groans and motions for someone else to come take his order.

"Honestly, Ever." Laxus rolls his eyes. "Your dress is three sizes too small and you _didn't_ expect people to be distracted?"

Evergreen makes a face. "Rude. For that, you're paying."

"Was there ever any doubt that I would be?" Laxus turns back to the counter and gives his order—a pumpkin spiced latte, _obviously._ "So," He digs his elbow into Evergreen's side. "Are you going to tell me why you've re-applied your lipstick four times since we left the car?"

"I will, once you tell me why you've been in an absolutely _foul_ mood all morning."

"Never mind, I've got it. He's not working today, you know? That Elfman guy. Seriously, you should get over yourself and just ask him out." He procures a crisp twenty dollar bill from his jeans pocket and sets it down on the counter, giving Evergreen a side-long glance. "And it's not a foul mood. It's my personality."

"Of course," Evergreen's eyes roll behind her sunglasses. "How could I forget?"

She takes her finished drink from the flustered barista and proceeds to noisily slurp the caramel goodness out of a chunky red straw.

"Are you going to ask him out, then?"

Scoffing, Evergreen shakes her head. "I will not _ask him out_. I refuse. It'll make me look desperate, alright? I'm waiting for him to come to me." She squints in response to Laxus' loud snort and places her hands on her hips. "I know it's been a while since you've _gotten some,_ Laxus, but that's just how the dating world works, darling."

Laxus grabs his own drink from the counter with a grunt. "This is why I don't date girls."

Evergreen smirks. "Well, you don't exactly date _boys_ either, my love. It's been like, what, six months since you last touched a boy's _hand_. Is that right?"

"Quiet, Ever."

She carries on as though she'd never heard him speak. "It's all your fault, too, you know? You're so darn grumpy and you have _zero_ social skills. You've never really had a proper boyfriend before, have you? And you know, that totally does not surprise me. I mean, you're practically celibate at this point—"

" _Evergreen_." Laxus hisses through the smallest cracks in his teeth.

"Okay, okay, I _apologize._ Let's get out of here," She squints at the counter one last time. "Elfman's nowhere to be seen and we promised we'd show up at Erza's housewarming party like three hours ago."

Erza isn't exactly a _friend_ of theirs, not like Bickslow is. But then again, Evergreen never could say no to a party.

As Evergreen heads back to the car, Laxus grabs a handful of sugar packets from the counter and stuffs them into his back pocket, ignoring the quizzical stare from the still red-faced barista. He's making his way towards the exit when he unceremoniously knocks into someone walking the opposite way.

Laxus blinks as his latte spills out of his cup.

"Oh— _Oh_ , no. This is bad." It's a boy. A particularly _short_ boy—and he's frantically shaking hot coffee off of his briefcase.

The first thing Laxus takes notice of is that the boy has the oddest green hair. It's longer than most boys wear their hair, but Laxus has always been able to appreciate a man with long hair.

Laxus looks at him from head-to-toe and back up again. He's a strange beauty—strange because he's clearly not _trying_ to look good. He has textbook perfect posture and seems to stand tall even though he's literally _so short_ that Laxus has to _look down_ to see him.

And his _clothes—_ now, Laxus doesn't exactly follow fashion. But that's because his instincts when it comes to fashion were God-given. Even when Laxus wasn't putting the effort in, he manages to look like something straight out of a Calvin Klein ad. He has a strong suspicion that his keen fashion sense was what drew Evergreen to him when they met in 3rd Grade.

"Um," Laxus says, quirking an eyebrow as he examines the boy's jacket. "Are you alright?"

Laxus rarely wears red, but on this boy, he thinks red works.

Green-Hair Boy finally looks up from his briefcase and blinks three times in quick succession. He pauses, seeming to take Laxus in, before coughing awkwardly and gesturing to his briefcase. "Uh, I just got this at the weekend and it's quite ruined now, uh—so, uh, I'm not very alright, I suppose."

Laxus purses his lips. He's never heard anyone so well-spoken yet so unable to form a sentence. "Well," He side-steps away from the strange boy. "My friend's waiting in the car, so I should go."

As Laxus makes a move to pass Green-Hair Boy, he's stopped by an adorably small hand halting his steps. "Uh, is there not a matter to be discussed here?"

"Huh?" Laxus asks, half-heartedly, as he notices Evergreen rudely gesturing to him from outside, her lips wrapped around the words _Hurry the fuck up, Laxus._

Laxus sighs and turns his attention back to the boy.

"Let's start this again. Hello, my name is Freed. You have just thoroughly spoiled my afternoon with your _clumsiness,_ so perhaps you could be more polite and do something to make it right?"

"Oh, really?" Laxus' eyes narrow at Freed. "What is it you want me to do, exactly?"

Dumbfounded, Freed shakes his soaked, stained bag in the air. "You could at least _offer_ to pay for the bag that you destroyed?"

"Or, you could go buy me another coffee," Laxus shoots back, his tone ripe with attitude. He gestures to his now-empty coffee cup. "This cost me four dollars."

"Four—" Freed's eyes seem to bug out of their sockets. Laxus stifles a laugh. " _Four_ dollars? Do you know how much this briefcase costs? It was _imported_ from Italy, buddy! This is _real leather!_ "

Laxus pretends to think about it. "I have a Starbucks giftcard. Final offer."

Freed makes a sound that startles the couple walking past them. "I don't want a Starbucks giftcard!"

"Subway work better for you?"

"Urgh," Freed shakes his head in amazement at the rudeness of this man before him. He huffs out a sigh of frustration. "You are honestly the most _infuriating_ man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

"And you need to _take the stick out_."

"Ex _cuse_ me?"

"Excuse yourself," Laxus replies coolly and drops his empty latte cup to the ground before crushing it with his shoe. He uses up one of his rare, reserved smiles, just to _twist the knife_ a little more, furthering Freed's rage.

Freed watches as Laxus makes his way to the exit. He glares when Laxus reaches the door, and yells after him. "Hey! You owe me!"

Laxus laughs and pushes through the door. "Whatever you say, _sunshine._ "

He leaves the café with absolutely no intention of ever seeing the insufferable green-haired nag again. However, Freed Justine isn't _exactly_ experienced in taking no for an answer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this chapter a read!  
> I will update this story on Mondays.   
> —tora


End file.
